Trying my best to break the monotony, I decided to take a trip to the Chicago Loop and do a bit of site seeing. I could not help but to notice that a great deal of our citizens have become creative and resourceful as they shift their gears into survival. I decided to get off the Redline on Lake street when I saw a guy using his musical talent to put food on his table at home. He serenaded the platform full of passengers with his Christians hyms, starting with the old gospel song "Amazing Grace". I exited the platform and headed over to Millennium Park to enjoy the view of our new attraction, The Crown Fountain. After taking a video of the water flowing from the mouth of one of the random faces, I headed back over to Lake street. There I found a homeless man sitting in the corner of a vacant building.I was inspired to capture his photo. He walked away before I could photograph him.
I wonder what his story is. What happened? How did he get there? A study has shown that 1% of the US population experience homelessness each year. 13.3% of the U.S. population are living in poverty. That same percentage of our population are one paycheck away from being homeless. Because our economy is at its worst, our poverty strickened citizens has switched gears to survival mode to prevent the worst from happening.
James Alexander decided to use his musical talent "to keep food in my belly. A man has to do what he has to do now-a-days. These days and times are not like they used to be. You can’t just walk down the street to you local grocery store and get a job the same day. Now you have to hustle! I refuse to be hungry."